The repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” has led other Ivy League schools — including Harvard, Yale, Columbia and Brown universities, as well as Dartmouth College — to consider reinstating Reserve Officers’ Training Corps programs. Whereas these peer schools have refused in the past to allow ROTC programs on campus to protest the military policy, Penn kept its program intact.
The Naval ROTC has a long history at Penn. It has been active on campus since 1940, with 35 students being commissioned as officers in 2010.
Although some could make the claim that this allowance contradicted Penn’s commitment to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights, we commend the University for supporting the military while also being recognized as one of the most LGBT-friendly schools in the nation.
Now that “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” is no more, openly gay students can finally participate in the Penn Naval ROTC program and be eligible for the scholarships and experience that it offers. We encourage all students to take advantage of this opportunity. Penn students should lead the way in bridging the divide.
The institutional discrimination against the LGBT community in the armed forces has ended. We can now attempt to overcome these past frictions and try to reconcile these two communities.
